Elevator.



PATENTED JAN. 13

ELEVATOR. APPLICATION FILED MAY 16,-1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

PATENTED JAN. 13, 1903. G. W. NISTLE. n

ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1902.

s SHEETS-SEHEN.

N0 MODEL.

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G. W. NISTLE. ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16,11902. N0 MODEL.

a SHEETS-SHEET 3.

V//eaz PATENTED JAN. 13, 1903.

lINrTsD STATES "ATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. NISTLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TOEVERETT W. BROOKS AND ROBERT L. GIFFORD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELEVATOR.

SPECIFIGATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 718,374, dated January13, 1903.

Application and May 16, 1902. serial No. 107,587. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. NIsTLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevators, of which th'efollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to elevators, more especially those of thepassenger type, and has for its principal object to provide aconstruction whereby a gang of elevators may all be simultaneouslyoperated from a single motorshaft, which in the preferred form of myinvention is located at the top of the 'several shafts and extendsacross the entire series, the principal purpose of such an arrangementbeing to provide a driving mechanism which by simultaneously driving aseries of cars, some ot' which are ascending while others aredescending, shall have the eifect of minimizing the variations in strainimposed upon the motor in the starting and stopping operations of eachcar.

Another object of my invention is to increase the life of the cablesemployed in elevotor systems through a construction which obviates theinjurious winding and unwinding of the cable or cables about pulleys anddrums, an operation which by subjecting cables to continual exingstrains rapidly mpairs the tensional strength and weight-sustainingqualities thereof.

To these and other ends my invention consists, primarily7 in a group ofmechanical combinations, each comprising an elevator-car and acounterbalance-Weight therefor connected therewith by a cable or otherflexible tensional support passing over a pulley located at the top ofthe shaft and sustaining the car preferably by frictional contact of thecable or cables with the upper semiperiphery of the pulley when arrangedin series and operated simultaneously by means of a commoncontinuously-driven motor-shaft extending transversely of the entireseries of elevator-shafts.

My invention consists, further, in special details and arrangements ofmechanism for carrying out the objects specified, all as more fullyhereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevational view of a gang ofelevators, here shown as six in number, equipped with supporting andoperating mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2is a side elevational View of a single eleVator-shaft,- showing the cartherein and supporting, counterbalancing, driving, and brake mechanismstherefor. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the 6o driving and brakemechanisms for a pair of adjacent cars on a considerablyenlarged scale.Fig. 3a is a detail view of a portion of the brake-operating mechanism;and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View, enlarged, on the line 4 4 of Fig.3, showing the preferred form of grooves in the periphery of the pulleyat the head of the shaft engaged by the cables that support the car.

` In carrying out my invention I support the 7o car by a cable orvseries of cables which are simply passedover but not around the usualsheave at the top of the shaft, to the opposite end of which cable orcables is secured a counterbalance-Weight, while the up and downmovements of the car are positively efvfected from a motor-shaft throughgearing interposed between the latter and the shaft of the cable-sheaveand mechanism under the control of the operator in the-car for re- 8oversing the rotary movements imparted to the sheave and for applying abrake which locks the sheave against movement in either direction.

In the drawings, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 indi- 85 cate a series ofelevator-shafts arranged side by side, in which are adapted to travel acorresponding series of cars 5a, 6a, 7a, 8', 9a, and 10, Across the topof these several elevator-shafts extends a common horizontal driv- 9oing-shaft, (indicated by 11,) which shaft may be operated by a pair ofmotors 12 and 13, located at either end thereof. In view of the factthat this shaft 1l furnishes the power for operating and controlling allof the several cars through intermediate mechanism which is the same inconnection with all of the several cars a description of the saidintermediate operating 'and controlling mechanism as applied to one ofthe cars-for example, the roo car 5, running in the shaft -will suicefor all.

Referring then more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, 14 designates apillow-block at the top of the shaft, in which is rotatably joui'- naledthe shaft 15a of a pulley or sheave 15, the periphery of which ispreferably grooved to receive one or more cables 16, which connect theroof of the car 5f with a stack of counterbalance-weights 17, attachedto the lower end of the cable and adapted when the car is at the highestpoint of its travel to seat and come to rest in a pocket 1S at or belowthe base of the shaft. The cable or cables 16 and connterbalance-weights17, trained over and suspended from the pulley 15, as described,constitute the sole means for counterbalancing the car, and thefrictional engagement of the cable or cables with the upper half of theperiphery of the pulley 15 is relied upon and has been found amplysufficient to sustain the weight of the carwith its maximum load againstany tendency of the latter to drop by reason of a relative slip betweenthe cables and the peripheral surface of the pulley.

My invention in its broad features is not concerned with the particularmechanism for effecting the rotation of the pulley 15 in oppositedirections to effect the ascent and descent of the car or with theparticular mechanism employed to hold or brake the said pulley when thelatter is not positively driven in either direction and the car is at alanding; buta simple and effective mechanism which may be employed forthese purposes consists in its essentials of the following: Above eachelevator-shaft is the pulley or sheave l5, already described, on therear face of which pulley as viewed in Fig. 2 is a circular spur-gear22. Fast on a shaft 20, journaled in the pillow-blocks 21, are a pair ofspur-gears 24 and 25, the perpheries of said gears being connected by anintermediate smooth circular surface adapted to be overlaid by a curvedfriction-brake 26, which latter is hinged at its heel` 26 to a bracket14 on the pillow-block lf'and has an overhanging forwardly-projectingarm 2Gb, on the outer extremity of which is mounted a weight 27, whichby its gravity effect serves to maintain the brake in operative relationto the gears 24 and 25 except when positively lifted therefrom by meanshereinafter described. Fast on one end of the shaft 2O is a spur-pinion23, which meshes with the gear 22.

Loosely mounted on the power-shaft 11 in the same transverse planes,respectively, as the gears 24 and 25 are a pair of spur-pinions 28 and29. The pinion 28 meshes directly with the gear 24, while thespur-pinion 29 engages the gear 25 indirectly through an idler-pinion30, journaled between a pair of adjacent pillow-blocks 3l, which supportthe shaft 11, Fig. 2. This is for the purpose of producing oppositerotations of the gears 24 and 25 from the rotations of their respectivedriving-pinions 2S and 29 in the same direction.

32 and 33 are a pair of friction-clutches splined upon the shaft 11 andadapted to alternately engage and disengage the outer faces of theirrespective cooperating pinions 28 and 29. A convenient mechanism foroperating these clutches in properly-timed relation consists of a pairof lever-arms 34 and 35, pivoted at their inner ends to the snpportswhich carry the shaft 11 and idler-pinion 30, said lever-arms beingpivoted at intermediate points to thephubs of the clutches and at theirouter extremities being connected by a bar 36. To the lever-arms 34 and35 are attached the opposite ends of a controllingcable 37, which latterpasses over suitable guide-sheaves 3S and 39 down through theelevator-shaft and over a guide sheave or pulley 40 at the bottomthereof, one vertical section of the loop of said cable passing lthroughthe car in a position conveniently adapted to be gripped and pulled bythe conductor. The relation of the clutches 32 and 33 to theirrespective pinionsis such that the disengagement of one clutch by anupward or downward pull on the cable 37 will not immediately engage theopposite clutch with its pinion, but will first produce an interme diateposition of said clutches, wherein both will be disengaged from theirrespective pinions. When said clutches are in this intermediateposition, it is desired to apply the brake 2G, and as a convenient meansfor effecting the actuation of the brake in properlytimed relation tothe movement of the clutches I have applied to the upper face of the bar36 a pair of oppositely-inclined cam-blocks 41 and 42, Fig. 3, whichcani-blocks coperate with a correspondingly cam-faced lug 43, secured tothe under side of the overhanging arm 26b of the brake directly aboveand between the cam-blocks 41 and 42. It will thus be seen from aninspection of Figs. 3 and 3 that when the clutches 32 and 33 are intheir intermediate or inoperative positions relatively to theirrespective pinions the carnfaced lug 43 will occupy such a positionrelatively to the cams 4l and 42 as Will permit the weight 27 to applythe brake 26 to hold the gears 24 and 25 against movement, while atravel of the bar 36 in either direction, produced by a pull `upon thecord 37 to throw either one of the clutches into operative engagementwith its respective pinion, will produce an elevation of the brake byreason of the wedging action of one or the other of the cams 41 42 uponthe cam-faced lug 43.

The operation of the mechanism will be readily understood from theforegoing description, in connection with the drawings, but may bebriefly described as follows: Each of the several cars iscounterweighted by the weights 17 to balance the weight of the car withan average load. This being the case, the power required to start andstop the car and the strain upon the operating mechanism in theseoperations is reduced to a minimum, as is well understood in elevatorpractice.

IOO

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The motors 12 and 13 drive the shaft 11 continuously in one direction,thus imparting an uninterrupted rotation in the same direction to all ofthe clutches 32 and 33 splined thereon, during which, of course, some ofthe cars will be ascending, others descending, and others stationary atthe top, bottom, or intermediate landings. Considering the car in Fig. 2as having reached the'upward limit of its ascent and being stationaryand about to descend and assuming that the driving-shaft 11 is rotatingin the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 and 3, the clutchesand brake controlling the movement of said car will occupy the relativepositions illustrated in plan in Fig. 3, both clutches rotating idly andthe brake being applied to prevent the A turning of the pulley 15 owingto any inequality in the gravity effects of the car and itscounterbalance. To start the car upon its downward movement, theoperator gives an upward pull upon that section of the controlling cablewhich passes through the car, thereby releasing the brake 26 through theengagement of the cams 42 and 43 and at the same time throwing theclutch 33 into engagement with its pinion 29, and the rotation of thelatter pinion through the described connections im parts a rotation tothe gear 22 and its connected pulley in a direction to raise thecounterweight and lower the car. When it is desired to stop the car at alanding, the operator merely grasps the controlling-cable, therebyeffecting a downward pull upon the latter, which shifts both clutches tothe intermediate position and simultaneously applies the brake. Vheneverthe car is to be raised, a downward pull upon the controlling-cable bythe operator effects the reverse movement of the clutches, throwing theclutch 32 into driving engagement with its pinion 28 and through thedescribed connections effecting a rotation of the pulley 15 in adirection to raise the car. When the car is to be stopped on its upwardtravel, the operator simply grasps the cable, thereby interrupting itstravel relatively to the car to an extent sufficient to disengage theclutch 32, and the upward travel of the car ceases simultaneously withthe application of the brake to hold the car against movement in eitherdirection.

An important advantage incident to the above-described manner ofsupporting and counterbalancing the car where friction-cables areemployed resides .in the fact that should the driving connectionsbetween the motor-shaft and the pulley 15 for any reason fail to workproperly or get beyond the control of the operator or should. the latterforget or fail to operate the controlling devices when the car hasreached either the upper or lower limit of its travel no possible damagecan result, for the reason that the counterbalance-weights 17 come torest in the pockets 18 at the bottom of the shaft when the car hasreached the upper limit of its travel, thereby slacking the cables 16and destroythe continued rotation of the latter does notI have anylifting eifect upon the car. Similarly, when the car is at rest atthebottom of the shaft the cables 16 are slacked, and the subsequentcontinued rotation of the pulley 15 will have no further lifting effectupon the counterbalance-weights. It will thus be seen that my inventionby virtue of the described construction provides an ever-presentsafeguard against accident due to a collision of either the car or thecounterbalance-weights with the-sustaining and operating devices at thetop of the elevator-shaft.

The provision of the pockets 18 to receive the counterbalance-weights 17when at rest affords a cushioning effect due to the compression andrestricted escape of the air confined therein below the enteringweights,

which serves to relieve the car from shock or jar that would otherwiseresult from thesudden interruption of the gravity effect of the weightsin counterbalancing the car.

Another important object of my invention resides in the minimizing ofthe starting and stopping strains upon the motor or motors by having allthe individual elevators of a gang geared to and operated by a commondrivingshaft, whereby torsional strains produced by some of the carsupon the shaft in one direction are more or less oset andcounterbalanced by simultaneous torsional strains upon the shaftproduced lby others of the cars in the opposite direction. The work ofthe mo,- tor or motors is thus rendered more nearly constant and uniformthan has heretofore been possible in any elevator system with which I amacquainted.

Still another advantage of my invention resides in the location of themotors and driving mechanism at the top of the shaft and directly underthe roof of the building, where space is of comparatively littlevalue,'instead of in the basement, where the space may be much morevaluable. Where electric motors are employed, which are the kind Iprefer to use in connection with my invention, the power can be taken,if desired, from any eX- ternal source, thus freeing the basement of thebuilding-entirely from boilers, engines, coal-bins, and otheraccessories of a powerproducing plant.

Still another advantage of my invention resides in the fact that Iincrease the life of the cables employed by greatly lessening the degreeof i'lection to which the cables are subjected. Where the cables arewound upon and unwound from a drum every time the car ascends anddescends or are passed one or more times entirely around the peripheryof a friction pulley or drum, they rapidly deteriorate and lose theiroriginal degree of tensional strength, requiring to be frequentlyreplaced by new cables in order to insure absolute safety againstbreakage. The only ilection to which the cables in my invention' IOO IIO

are subjected is that of a half-turn over a single pulley ofconsiderable diameter at the head of the shaft, and consequently thelife of the cables is greatly extended.

In the preferred form of my invention the periphery of thesupporting-pulley is provided with one or more U-shaped grooves, asillustrated in the detail view Fig. 4, according to the number of cablesemployed, such a form of groove being amply sufficient to afford thenecessary friction to insure against slip between the pulley and thecable or cables and at the same time embodying the automatic safetyfeature hereinabove described. It is obvious, however, that if it weredesired to guard absolutely against any possible slip of the iiexibletensional support upon the pulley this might be accomplished in avariety of ways within the purview of my invention, as by making thegrooves V-shaped, whereby they would have an effective bite upon thecables, or by making the pulley n the form of a sprocketwheel and thecables in the form of sprocketchains. Such devices, however, would lackthe automatic safety feature above described. Believing myself to be thefirst to operate a gang of elevators from a single continuously,rotating power-shaft, I do not limit myself to the speciic connectionsshown and described intermediate said shaft and the several elevatorsexcept to the extent indicated in certain of the appended claims.

I claiml. In an elevator, the combination with a supporting-pulleymounted at the top of the elevator-shaft, of a car adapted to travel inthe latter, a cable connected at one end to said car and passing thenceover said pulley,

a counterbalance-weight suspended from the opposite end of said cable,and a pocket at the base of the shaft adapted to receive, cushion andsupport said counterbalance-weight as the car reaches the top of theshaft, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a gang of elevator shafts and cars operativelysuspended therein, of a single power-shaft adapted to be continuouslyrotated, and means under the control of the operator in each car forstarting, driving and stopping the latter from said power-shaft,substantially as described.

3. The combination with a gang of elevator shafts and cars operativelysuspended therein, of a single power-shaft extending transversely acrosssaid elevator-shafts adapted to be continuously rotated, and driving,reversing. and brake mechanisms between said power-shaft and each ofsaid cars under the control of the operator in the latter, substantiallyas described.

4t. The combination with a gang of elevator-shafts, cars therein, andsupporting pulleys and cables thereabove, of a single powershaftextending transversely across said gang of elevator-shafts, amotoradapted to impart a continuous rotation to said power-shaft,driving, reversing,aud brake mechanisms between said power-shaft and thesupportingpulley of each car under the control of the operator in thelatter, said power-shaft, motor, and driving, reversing, and brakemechanisms all being located at the top of the elevator-shafts,substantially as described.

GEORGE W. NISTLE.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL L. POND, RoBT. N. GIFFORD.

